15 October 2013

With American football season in full swing, the old controvery has been resurrected: Should Washington's football team change its name?

I've heard some people (mostly older white men) say that they don't find the "Redskins" name offensive at all. But KKK members were probably not offended by the N-word. They're not the targets of those slurs.

The best people to judge the offensiveness of a potential slur are the targets of that slur. In the "Redskins" case, Native Americans.

So I emailed a close friend who had married into a Native American family, and asked how her husband and his family feel about the term.

Her response was brief and straightforward:

"Redskin(s)" is derogatory and racist. Can you imagine any sports team named the N-word?